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Thursday, May 21, 2015

I am very sorry for not having posted soonest. I forgot i promised i will be posting the succeeding episode for El Nido. I have been working, working while travelling, travelling and working, only travelling, absent from work and...overstressed from them all. Now i am back, posting hopefully a lot for my two blogposts.

Now here comes the promised continuation. We booked for Tour B and C, which has the maybe more difficult passages and has about 5-6 islands. However, sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances like big waves so we forego some and got some near ones included in Tour A. We didn't bother to be fixed, as long as we are going to islands.

This is smaller than our boat, however excitement didn't remind me to take a photo of our own boat! That can be understandable and forgiven, huh!

Will anybody not get excited with these horizons, seemingly so near yet in reality is a little bit far. Waters seem to be very friendly, yet in some straights and passages there are also big waves. Colors of the waters signify their depths. The turqoise-looking one at the middle means there is a sandbar almost near the surface, and the sudden deep blue adjacent to it means there is a sudden deep plunge. That can be dangerous for snorkellers, as there might be fast currents on those areas.

The cliffs on this island are so vertical and high. The birds or swallows reside on those cliffs and make nests on the limestone holes. The nests are gathered to make the birds' nest soup! Have you tasted that soup? Gatherers risk their lives climbing those cliffs for the much sought birds nest, much appropriately called Nido Soup. Ah that can probably give them the Intellectual Property Rights for Geographic Indication. I should maybe ask the IPO if that is possible.

Islands have their individual characteristics. This island has a wider beach to explore, so we also did the almost mandatory jumpshot. I can still jump, can't you see. I am the one with the hat and the lifevest. Only one guy was with us. Who says weight prevents anyone from doing the jumpshot!

Above is not an island included in the tour, as there will be no shallow waters to move the boat in. It looks harsh to people but it is a very beautiful sight while onboard. Nobody talks, just "wow", "ohhh", "ganda"-Tagalog word for beautiful or spectacular!

This island is very easy to remember, the Snake Island, because of the circuitous shape of that sandbar connecting two islands. During low tide it serves as a bridge for people and animals to transfer to the island we are now on. In fact there is a dog that comes here during low tide to eat the food given by tourists, and then return to its owner in that big island at low tide. What a very resourceful dog. There are residents and houses in that island beyond the sandbar.

This is another view at the top of the look-out at the Snake Island.

In one of the islands we did this also almost mandatory swimming and snorkelling. There are corals and fishes that we found below which are also interesting.

This is not an island but like a passage or a long cove with tall ranges of mountains on both sides. This is called the Big Lagoon, an almost mandatory place to visit in El Nido. There was also a Small Lagoon on the way to this, but we opted not to go there because of the big waves on the way in.

This Big Lagoon looks mysterious at the entrance. It also reminds me of my just recent experience to the Milford Sound Cruise in Queenstown, New Zealand. It is just that travelling this one is narrow and short compared to Milford Sound. The greenish-blue or turquoise water reveals it is not very deep. All of us kept on clicking our cameras, cell phones, and whatever we have. It is a different world, one word that describes it is "awesome".

The cliffs here, like in Milford Sound, have distinct characteristics from the one beside it. One is barren showing the limestone cliffs, as above, while the next cliff (below) has more dense vegetation.

Above is already on the way out, look at the small shallow passage. This time everybody starts talking because we are already on the way home.

This is our group minus the 5 including me, who are at my back taking photos.

This time i will be promising again for the next post. I hope you will not be waiting that long as the first one. Enjoy your travels too!

Andrea, I feel like I'm on this trek with you. What an amazing place. I'm not sure about the Nido(nest) soup. That sounds absolutely disgusting:) I know I know.....I can't judge it if I've never tried it but it doesn't sound very appealing to me. Swallow nests should be for swallows and not eaten I think:) I don't know how I feel about a bird's nest getting eaten by people. The swallows here regurgitate with mud and other goodies:) Love your trek! Looks like you had a very good day:)

I agree with you, getting the swallows' nests and eating them, making their existence so vulnerable is really disgusting. I don't know which country they are exporting the dried nests, but they are really expensive. The swallows tried to escape by making nests much higher up, and more risks for the gatherers. By the way, if you will see the animals and birds cages in Chinese restaurants in their country, you will puke. I was so young then when i saw it as if it is a zoo, customers will point to the animal, and the restaurant will prepare the dish. I truly pity the animals.

Hi Maria, i haven't checked any of the souvenir shops as it was really a hectic schedule. You should visit El Nido when you are here, i will be waiting for the photos. I am sure you can put more justice to their beauty.

Hi Andrea, What an awesome place to visit.... WOW!!!! I'd love to do that --but probably couldn't do the 'jump' thing!!!!! ha..... I love the area where you were going through the passage with those huge rocks on both sides... AMAZING. Thanks for sharing.Hugs,Betsy

Yes Betsy, glad to hear from you again. These are really amazing natural rock formations, made through time by natural elements. I tell you they are non-comparable with others in the world although i somehow compared it to Milford Sound, New Zealand.

Hello Andrea, what a beautiful paradise to visit. The water color is gorgeous. Looks like a fabulous place to snorkel, did you see a lot of exotic fish? The cliffs and rock formations are beautiful too. Thanks for sharing your trip! Lovely photos! Have a happy week!

Hello Eileen, i am not very good in snorkelling and i have a little phobia with water. But yes, lots of exotic marine life are seen in these waters. Our area is near the sea and marine sanctuary so i am not really that keen under the sea, but i am fascinated with the cliffs and my eyes are always directed to the top.

Hi Al, a lot of US tourists are here during US winters to take advantage of our lower temperatures that time and be away from winter for a while. If you come over i can give you some suggestions and tips, or i can even join you, haha!

What a beautiful place and so much natural beauty to enjoy. I am not much of a boater as I get sea-sick as I found out on a boat trip and have avoided it since, but the beach and swimming and the fish, I would love. I too feel sorry for the birds who get their nests taken for food and how dangerous to climb up there.. Thank you for the tour and I am glad you can take a boat and be well on it...Michelle

Am glad i don't get seasick at all, but i am always scared. If i have both then maybe i will not try boating anymore, hahaha. Thank you so much Michelle for holding the Nature Notes diligently despite your condition.

Thank you, Andrea, for a fabulous post here. The island area looks out of this world! The colours, the sandbars, the sheer height of the rocks etc. I love the dog story! Your work must be fascinating, too. I continue to look out for and log the Ladybirds. I was particularly keen to find a new sort (for me), the Kidney-spot, in our garden the other week! The weather is sunny today, but we are due to have some strong winds tomorrow. One day it looks as though we are moving towards summer, then the next we are back in winter ... that's the UK for you! Thank you for your comment on my birdsong post.

Yes Caroline it is fabulous in these areas, i am sure you will enjoy them too. I am glad you are finding more ladybirds because i already cannot religiously find them. My very short stay at home on a few weekends are all devoted to tend my hoyas, i wonder what happen to the ladybirds as their live food keep on multiplying as pests in our area. Our world weather is really going crazy, this is the first time that we had those very high temperatures, and very long dry season. At least in the big city where i am working it rains a little for 2 nights now, but in the province where my hoyas are, rains are still nowhere to be seen.

WELCOME!

You are welcome to my blog. Your comments, suggestions and/or advice are surely appreciated. I am from the Philippines, a hot tropical climate, and this blog is a mixture of travels, photos and a lot more from here and abroad. I hope you enjoy it.